The rumor that ABC fired Jimmy Kimmel was merely a joke the “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” team wrote, however, it flew over some viewers’ heads as many thought Kimmel was the newest on-air talent to get the boot from a network.
It all happened last month when Kimmel was talking about the recent firings of Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson and CNN’s Don Lemon during his opening monologue on the late night show.
“This is like if Ronald McDonald and the Burger King got fired on the same day,” the host said in jest. Kimmel’s bit was then interrupted by the show’s side personality Guillermo Rodriguez who delivered an ABC News Special Report,
“We have some breaking news,” Rodriguez said in the report, which was completely made up. “After 20 years on the air, ABC TV has decided to part ways with its host, Jimmy Kimmel. This was a mutual decision. We want to say thank you to Jimmy Kimmel and his many, many contributions.”
While some may have realized Kimmel’s on-air firing was just a gag, others took it seriously, believing the comedian truly did lose his job.
“Wait wait wait…Jimmy Kimmel got fired , on his OWN SHOW??!! LIVE?! Lawd hammercy..,” one Twitter user wrote.
“Also speaking of lefties, the tool JIMMY KIMMEL has been fired,” another Twitter user said.
And Kimmel’s show going off air in support of the WGA writers strike doesn’t help any of the confusion. The show joins other late night shows that have also seized production to stand in solidarity with writers, including “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon,” “The Daily Show” and “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.”
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” made its debut on January 26, 2003, replacing “Politically Correct” hosted by Bill Maher.
